5/4 Update: JBS Packerland reopening Tuesday

JBS Packerland, which closed its Green Bay meat-processing plant in late April due to COVID-19, plans to reopen Tuesday with limited staff.

The plant will initially reopen to restart the slaughtering of animals. On Wednesday, JBS Packerland will resume fabricating operations, which involve meat processing.

As of last week, the coronavirus sickened nearly 300 workers — about a quarter of JBS Packerland’s employees. The company said all employees will be tested before resuming work.

JBS Packerland said it had no choice but to reopen the Green Bay plant after President Trump issued an executive order last week requiring beef, pork and poultry facilities to continue operations “to ensure a continued supply of protein for Americans.”

Breakthrough helps pair shippers who need more capacity

Breakthrough, a Green Bay company that works in the field of transportation energy and information management, is using its data to facilitate capacity sharing opportunities among shippers whose supply chains have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Breakthrough client initially led the charge, reaching out to the company with available, dedicated fleet capacity it wanted to offer to shippers whose products are essential to consumers amid the pandemic.

“Our clients recognize the power of collaboration and creating more symbiotic networks, so in times of crisis they knew to turn to the broader Breakthrough shipper community,” said Breakthrough COO Heather Mueller. “When our client wanted to share its excess capacity with others for the greater good, we quickly realized we could help facilitate these partnerships for other shippers as well.”

For clients who express either a desire to help or a need for more capacity, Breakthrough is using its broad set of North American transportation data to connect shippers based on network flows and freight characteristics. Facilitating partnerships between shippers with underutilized private fleets or excess dedicated fleet capacity and shippers in need allows high-demand products to get to consumers faster, while keeping drivers of private and dedicated fleets employed during this time of uncertainty.

Packers donate $250,000 to Green Bay health systems

The Green Bay Packers have distributed $250,000 to the Green Bay area’s health care systems to provide personal protective equipment for doctors, nurses and staff working to care for those who are sick amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The donation will provide three $83,333 grants to the three healthcare systems in the Green Bay area through their foundations: the Bellin Health Foundation, HSHS St. Vincent/St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and Aurora Health Foundation. The grants will be directed toward obtaining PPE for immediate use in hospitals and clinics in the area.

The donation is being distributed through the Packers Give Back COVID-19 Community Relief Fund, a $1.5 million fund aimed at providing immediate support to Wisconsinites facing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund has $1 million of support earmarked for Brown County and $500,000 earmarked for initiatives in Milwaukee County. Dozens of grants have already been distributed through the fund to support nonprofits that are serving on the frontlines of the pandemic.

Integrity offers business owner policy payback

Integrity Insurance, which is part of Grange Insurance Co., announced a Business Owner Policy (BOP) payback, which will return 20 percent of April and May premiums to its BOP customers. This support is an expansion of the customer relief the company recently unveiled for its personal auto customers.

The payments will happen automatically, and customers do not need to do anything to receive the payback.

With stay-at-home orders and other social distancing measures in place across the country, the risk for insured losses at insured locations has been reduced. Grange Insurance BOP customers will receive a 20 percent payback for the months of April and May for policies in-force as of March 31, pending regulatory approval. Paybacks will be issued by check and mailed to customers in May. The payments will happen automatically, and customers do not need to do anything to receive the payback.